Buddy Miles, Them Changes (1970)

He’s probably best known as the drummer for Jimi Hendrix’s short-lived-but-unspeakably-righteous Band of Gypsys, but Buddy Miles was a side-man for years prior to that, for Wilson Pickett among others, and even at the time of Hendrix’s death, he had already begun to establish himself as a bandleader, if one who led from behind a kit. Listening to 1970’s Them Changes, with its hard-hitting rhythmic drive, classic soul vocals from Miles (“Them Changes”), forays into Beatlesian lovelorn acoustic balladry (“I Still Love You Anyway”), and James Brown-style horn flourish (“Memphis Train”), bass-led, guitar-fuzzed funk (the Neil Young and Crazy Horse cover “Down by the River”) and excursions into psych-rock jamming (“Paul B. Allen, Omaha, Nebraska”), one gets a picture of just how fluidly Miles was able to cross genre lines. As much as he’s at the center of it, vocally in the swing of his drums and with his name and picture out front, there’s a full-band feel throughout — Band of Gypsys bassist Billy Cox plays on the title cut — and Miles readily invites everyone to get in on the party.

And what a party it is. Them Changes is just 33 minutes long, and it follows two solo records from Miles — 1968’s Expressway to Your Skull and 1969’s Electric Church — but it has a clarity of intent that even in its quiet stretches like “I Still Love You Anyway,” which is as classic a second-track ballad as I’ve heard on any heavy ’70s rock offering — Cactus‘ “My Lady from South of Detroit” comes to mind as a comparison point, Miles having previously worked with Cactus guitarist Jim McCarty in The Buddy Miles Express, an earlier solo incarnation (hence “Expressway…“) — is hell-bent for a good time. With closer “Your Feeling is Mine” rounding out its brief stretch, the final statement Them Changes makes is lighthearted in its intent and almost pushing back to a nostalgic kind of sweetness, Miles‘ voice recalling Pickett as much as it seems to be presaging Stevie Wonder‘s glory days later in the decade.

Miles died in 2008 at the age of 60, but his legacy in blues, funk, soul and of course rock continues to thrive. As always, I hope you enjoy.

—

Didn’t think of it when I picked the album — I promise, I didn’t — but Them Changes is pretty apropos to my having started work this week, of which I don’t mind saying even just four days kicked my ass. Memorial Day, which was this past Monday here in the States, feels like a lifetime ago. Today was my shortest commute to the office and it was an hour door to door. Mostly it’s been in the 75-80 minute range. Each way. In I-95 traffic with the other sad-looking 30-somethings wearing button downs in lines as straight as our descent into middle-aged mediocrity. It has not been a simple adjustment — and it is by no means one I’ve finished making, if the late nights writing reviews for this site are anything to go by; much, I think to The Patient Mrs.‘ chagrin, though as usual she’s been wonderful even if her silence is glaringly loud — but so it goes. I’ve had to leave the little dog Dio at home thus far. That might be the most heartbreaking of all. Even when I worked in an office, she always came with me.

I’ve also had to wear headphones. There are three people in this office currently, and I’m one of them. It’s strange not just blaring music at will. I need to get a pair of non-buds though because I think I’ve given myself an ear infection. I’m happy to have a job after so long unemployed, and the people I work with seem like down to earth, reasonable, non-dramatic types, and that alone is a boon. Everything else will sort itself out, I’m just not there yet.

The magazine I’m working for, if you’re wondering, is a trade journal covering the commercial gases industry — basically everything but oil, natural gas, gasoline. I’ve read more about hydrogen and helium in the last four days than in the entirety of my 33 years prior. I think even the people who work in the industry would tell you it’s not thrilling stuff, but apparently it’s how the world works. For what it’s worth, I’m fueled by coffee and compulsion. That’s how I get by.

Next week, track stream from Bison Machine (whose album was already out digitally but is getting the vinyl/official release treatment), video premiere from Kings Destroy (old friends will also be announcing tour dates either in conjunction with the premiere or close enough to for me to fake it), and reviews of Old Indian, Demon Head and Weedeater. Ambitious, right? I also work full-time. Eat it, existence. I’d rather obliterate myself writing than be conscious anyway.

To that end, I’ve worked here four days, and yesterday and today both, I’m the last one in the office. So it will go, I think, at least for a while. They gave me keys, so I guess they’re not looking to can my ass in the immediate. Mark that a win.

Thanks to everyone who checked in this week and especially everyone who downloaded the podcast. We’ll pass 100 downloads today, which is four days it’s been up. I think that’s the fastest we’ve ever hit that mark. Much appreciated.

Off to Connecticut for the weekend, so an hour-plus home, then two hours south, so yeah, I’ve put in some road time this week. Past 210,000 miles in the Volvo of Doom. I expect to hit 211k much quicker than I went from 209 to 210. So it goes.

Have a great and safe weekend. Please. Do that. Also enjoy the Buddy Miles and check out the forum and radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

Some of today’s finest heavy bands covering some of the best rock and roll ever crafted, the Electric Ladyland [Redux] tribute to Jimi Hendrix from Magnetic Eye Records was going to be a hard one to beat from the start, but at this point what started out as a Kickstarter presale with a $5,000 goal has surpassed five times that. As of this post, it’s over $26,000. Today, Nov. 17, was to be the end of the presale. 500 copies sold, a bonus Best of Jimi Hendrix covers LP (the cover below) included as a thanks to those who contributed enough to get it, done and done. Well, the announcement just came through to the backers that Magnetic Eye is continuing the push.

The new goal? $30,000. That ups the pressing from 500 copies to 1,000. Less than $4,000 to go, and given the scale of the project at this point, that seems infinitely doable. Kudos to the label on coordinating such a powerful assemblage. It’s rare to see the heavy rock scene so universally agree on anything, but I’ve yet to hear any dissent when it comes to this, and the amount of money put in speaks for itself.

Here’s the announcement and the tracklisting for who’s covering what:

Electric Ladyland [Redux] by Magnetic Eye Records: Smashed Right Thru SOLD OUT Status! 2nd Stretch Goal, $30,000.00!

Being that we are smashing thru 500 backers and a pressing of 500 LPs we are deciding to put the pedal to the metal and go for 1,000. There will only be a 1 and only first pressing of Electric Ladyland [Redux] so the time to act is now. Tell your friends, your neighbors, etc…. EARTHLESS, ALL THEM WITCHES, THE BUDOS BAND, SUMMONER, ELDER, OPEN HAND, KING BUFFALO, TUNGA MOLN, CLAYMATION, ELEPHANT TREE, GOZU, MOTHERSHIP, WO FAT, MOS GENERATOR, SUPERCHIEF, THE PHUSS covering Electric Ladyland in full with cover art by David Paul Seymour, COME ON!

And if that is not enough, a ‘Best Of’ including Child, Ironweed, Geezer, Stubb, Rosy Finch, Elephant Tree, etc! with cover art by Caitlin Hackett. Out of control. So we made a final stretch goal. Here is the info:

FINAL STRETCH GOAL: $30,000.00 = 1,000 Electric Ladyland [Redux] LPs Pressed

Clearly, we are thrilled with the support and interest this project and these releases are receiving. We are creating a $30,000.00 stretch goal to allow us to increase the amount of records pressed 1,000 to accommodate additional backers. We planned to hit $25K and press 500 copies, as we pass 500 backers we will continue to adjust our plan based on the number of backers and amount pledged. We are already so humbled and grateful. Thank you!

the Electric Ladyland [REDUX] track list:
Elephant Tree “…And the Gods Made Love”
Open Hand “Have You Ever Been (To Electric Ladyland)”
Superchief “Crosstown Traffic”
All Them Witches “Voodoo Child”
The Phuss “Little Miss Strange”
The Budos Band “Long Hot Summer Night”
Earthless “Come On (Let the Good Times Roll)
Wo Fat “Gypsy Eyes”
Mos Generator “Burning of the Midnight Lamp”
Gozu “Rainy Day, Dream Away”
Summoner “1983… (A Merman I Should Turn to Be)
Claymation “Moon, Turn the Tides… Gently Gently Away”
Mothership “Still Raining, Still Dreaming”
King Buffalo “House Burning Down”
Tunga Moln “All Along the Watchtower”
Elder “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/magneticeye/electric-ladyland-redux
https://www.facebook.com/MagneticEyeRecords

Jimi Hendrix, “Voodoo Child (Slight Return)”

“What the hell are you going to do with those?” asked The Patient Mrs. when I got back to the car and showed her the two Black Sabbath 8-track tapes I’d bought at the annual “Not Just” Rock Expo outside of Philadelphia this past Friday afternoon. It was a fair question. My answer was somewhat less reasoned: “Set up an altar and worship them as gods, who fucking cares?”

My point, expressed with my usual eloquence, was that it wasn’t about listening to Heaven and Hell and Sabbath‘s 1970 self-titled debut — which I can do at this point on any number of physical media — but just about enjoying owning the albums on this format. And hell, if I wind up with an 8-track player someday, at least I’ll know what to put on first. Whether that came through or not, I was greeted with the usual rolled eyes and a, “Time to go.” Fair enough. We were already running late.

This was the 27th “Not Just” Rock Expo — it’s actually put together by the same dude who does the Second Saturday Record Show in Wayne, NJ, that I’ve enjoyed many times in the past — and it just happened to be in the right place at the right time. Held in Oaks, PA, which is northwest of Philly, this past Friday and Saturday, normally, it’d be well out of my geographic range at this point for a day trip, but The Patient Mrs. and I (also the little dog Dio) spent Thanksgiving in Maryland. Friday found us heading back north to see family in New Jersey, so the “Not Just” Rock Expo was more or less on the way, and that’s just how I sold The Patient Mrs. on the idea of making a stop.

The GPS took us what felt like halfway across PA, but we got there eventually and found the hangar-sized room where the expo was happening. Three long, two-sided rows of vendors were set up, and there was a good crowd there. I recognized a few faces from shows and such, and while it might not have been just rock, there certainly was enough of it. It seemed like almost every table, save perhaps that run by King Fowley of Deceased, had one or another kind of Beatles memorabilia on offer, but there were plenty of other ways to spend money as well. More money than I had, but I did alright. The first place I looked had Death‘s Individual Thought Patterns on tape for like two bucks, so I made that happen, and an original Alternative Tentacles pressing of Neurosis‘ Souls at Zero that I’ve very much enjoyed revisiting despite a skip or two in “The Web,” as well as Death in 3s by Meatplow, which I picked up essentially because I recognized the name and thought it would be fun. So far that’s worked out.

Across the aisle was a vendor who had an entire section devoted solely to Repertoire Records reissues. Fuck me. But for the ones I already owned, I probably could’ve shelled out $300 on that stuff alone and walked out of the “Not Just” Rock Expo with a smile on my face. I didn’t. Money’s tight, and sooner or later I’d have to buy gas to get back up to Massachusetts, so I nabbed the digipak version of Atomic Rooster‘s In Hearing Of and left it at that. By then, The Patient Mrs. had adjourned to the car, but I made my way through at what was apparently a leisurely place — when it was over, I seemed to have lost an extra hour in there somewhere — finding other odds and ends along the way like a Nuclear Blast edition of the first Count Raven CD, a full-jewel-case promo (imagine such a thing!) for Russian Circles‘ debut, Enter, and a cheap tape copy of Band of Gypsys that made the rest of the ride to Jersey a little easier to take, despite traffic.

Toward the end of the last row, a guy who had some other decent stuff as well was selling a copy of the 2007 split between Sons of Otis and Queen Elephantine for $20. I wanted it. I was decently enough past my spending limit, however, so I offered the $13 in my hand, he said no, and I put the disc back. The one that got away. More the fool I, since I can’t seem to find the CD version online anywhere. That’ll show me not to recklessly shell out dollars.

It was a downer note to end on, but overall, I can’t really complain. I hadn’t even known the “Not Just” Rock Expo existed until reading a post about it Thanksgiving night on Thee Facebooks, so considering that and the tri-format haul, I’d say I did alright. They’ve already got the space booked for the 28th installment of the “Not Just” Rock Expo (their website is here), and if you happen to be in the area, it seems like a good way to make yourself late to wherever you might be headed next.

Queen Elephantine, “The Battle of Massacoit/The Weapon of the King of Gods”

The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Are You Experienced (1967)

Earlier today I had what I can only refer to as a Hendrix-panic. I was minding my own business this afternoon and all of a sudden, nothing else would do. It was Jimi Hendrix or it was nothing, and it’s almost never nothing, so there you go. I put on “May this be Love,” so it seemed only fair to cap the week with the record it comes from, 1967’s Are You Experienced, the debut from The Jimi Hendrix Experience. Yeah, it’s an obvious choice — nothing underground about it unless you’re listening for the proto-heavy that’s in there that others won’t hear — but what the hell, it’s about as classic as classic gets.

This is the version with bonus tracks. Under normal circumstances, I’d prefer to keep it to the original tracklisting, but in this age of at-no-cost immediate access, I won’t play the choosy beggar. At least not this time. I figured there wasn’t much likelihood of complaint about an hour of Hendrix either way, and Are You Experienced is one of those records that’s so omnipresent I feel like it’s almost passed over. It’s a given. Think of listening to it again like re-reading Huck Finn, or watching Spaceballs or Young Frankenstein again as an adult. Totally different level of enjoyment. When was the last time you really listened to this album?

For me it was a couple hours ago, but I think the point stands. There ain’t no life nowhere.

—

Pretty wild couple days this week. Monday feels like forever ago for only having been the usual number of hours. Next week’s even farther away from sane with the Thanksgiving holiday and all. I’ll have a new podcast put together sometime, maybe have it go up on Thursday if I’m feeling fancy and want to mark the occasion. The Patient Mrs. and I are headed out of town to see family for the weekend — traveling from Massachusetts to Maryland, to Jersey, to NYC, to Massachusetts over the course of four days — so I won’t have much else up toward the end of this week coming up, but things will get back to normal after that. At least for a month.

I’ll also be back in New York on Dec. 5 and 6 for shows. Want to see Mountain God and The Golden Grass and it just happens they’re playing on successive nights. I’d call myself a citizen of the East Coast if I didn’t think it’d make me sound like a pretentious jackass. Cough cough.

Before my wife and dog and I hit the road, look out for reviews of Sylvia and Black Skies, new audio from Elliott’s Keep and the aforementioned podcast, as well as whatever else I can think of to toss in there and whatever it might be that I know I’m forgetting to mention. There’s something. I know there’s something. Ah well. If I can think of it, I’ll let you know.

And if not, I’m pretty sure you’ll survive. In so doing, I hope you’ll have a great and safe weekend and that you’ll please take some time to check out the forum and radio stream.

The Obelisk Forum

The Obelisk Radio

The rightful position when it comes to a disc like Jimi Hendrix‘s People, Hell and Angels (they used to call them “catalog releases,” but there’s probably a new word for it now because I’m old and there’s a new word for everything) is almost invariably one of disdain. As much albums as this, or Sony Legacy/Experience Hendrix‘s previous mining operation, 2010’s Valleys of Neptune, are so often predicated on the idea of “new material,” and so often that’s a load of bunk, the cynicism on the part of a certain segment of the fanbase is invariable. The Jimi Hendrix Experience put out three records. Since Hendrix‘s death in Sept. 1970, more than 40 studio, live and compilation albums have appeared, and that’s not counting bootlegs, official and otherwise. It’s easy to see a release like People, Hell and Angels as part of an ongoing effort to take advantage of fan loyalty and squeeze people for their hard-earned cash by recycling the same old “previously unreleased” songs and jams.

I’m not going to argue with that position. At all. I get it completely and I won’t even say I disagree. Nonetheless, let me offer an opposing view just for fun: People, Hell and Angels presents very, very little that hasn’t been heard before, either in the form of these exact recordings or others like them, but as a fan and as someone passionate about Hendrix‘s work, doesn’t a new collection present an exciting opportunity to explore the material, even if it’s been heard before? This could be a new mix, or a new master, or hell, even a new track order makes a difference in the listening experience, so while “Hear My Train a Comin'” is so very, very familiar, can’t a fan also just enjoy the way it leads into the funky jam “Baby Let Me Move You?,” fronted by Lonnie Youngblood, with whom Hendrix had worked prior to getting big with the Experience? If we take away the idea of “previously unreleased,” couldn’t it possibly be okay to dig on People, Hell and Angels for being a shiny new Hendrix collection?

And I do mean “shiny.” Literally, the digipak reflects light. Metallic ink or foil paper may not be any newer than these recordings, but between that and the 24-page booklet packed with recording information and photos for each and every track, no one can say that effort wasn’t put into the package and the design. And while I’m on board with bootleg purists in eschewing overly clean remastered releases, listening to “Earth Blues” open People, Hell and Angels or the later cool jam “Hey Gypsy Boy” — recorded March 18, 1969, according to the liner — these songs do sound damn good. The thing of it is, there comes a point where the righteous anger of the superfan has to meet with the realization that not everyone in the world has the time, the interest or the passion to dedicate themselves to the project of hunting down and memorizing the entire recorded output of an artist. I’d love to be able to afford to chase down every Hendrix bootleg ever pressed, but I can’t do that or my wife will leave me. She’s all but said so.

So while we all know the implication of “newly unearthed recordings” or the image of some hapless studio employee finding this stuff in a basement and dusting it off to read the label and see “Jimi H. session, 6/11/68″  on there isn’t how it happened, I’ll take the rehashed blues jam of unfinished closer “Villanova Junction,” a different version of which was included in 1996’s Burning Desire for what it is. Tell me, even if you’re a diehard Hendrix fan, is there something you’d rather be hearing? I don’t think Sony Legacy is sitting on a pile of unreleased finished, mastered, never-heard songs going, “No, these are mine! Give them the same shit over again!” Pretty sure if they could sell that stuff, they’d do it, and even if it’s one or two songs on here that’s never seen light in this form, how much more can you really expect after 43 years of posthumous albums? If releases like this are for super-nerds and those who don’t know any better, I guess what I’m having a hard time with is seeing the problem in that if they enjoy listening to it.

And hell, if there’s some kid out there who picks up People, Hell and Angels as the first Hendrix album they own, can’t we just be glad that someone under the age of 25 knows who Jimi Hendrix is and assume that kid will use the internet research skills seemingly endemic to their generation to figure out that he or she probably should’ve started with Are You Experienced instead? Yeah, I know People, Hell and Angels has its downsides. It’s not short on them, but really, I’ve enjoyed listening to it so much while I sat here to write this and I’ve had so much fun reading about each of the songs in the liner notes, that I guess I’m limited in how much I can really tear it apart in a review. If that makes me a sucker, then I’m a sucker. We all are, to one extent or another. If you need me, I’ll be the sucker fuzz-rocking “Crash Landing” on repeat while he compiles a list of bootlegs to chase down.

Credit where it’s due, Antiquiet put together a great piece last year on where this material has been heard before. Commendable effort and excellent for the curious.